By Your Side
by guiltyashell
Summary: "They have this thing they do. Whenever something bad has happened one of them will turn up at the other's apartment and sleep next to them. That's all the comfort they need."


**Hey guys I'm back with a new story for a new fandom. This is my very first suits fic that I'm publishing here and I very much hope you'll like it.**

 **It's gonna be a multichapter story but this chapter is all I have so far. Let me know what you think and you're all welcome to tell me about any ideas you might have for this story.**

 **Love you all *hugs* and here we go:**

* * *

The first time it happened was the night after his dad died.

* * *

Harvey had gone home and was now sitting on his couch, a glass of scotch in his hand that he had poured himself an hour before, but still hadn't taken a sip from.  
He just sat there staring at something only he could see, his eyes shining with unshed tears and his breathing shallow.  
His father had died. Harvey pursed his lips and let out a long breath. It seemed so surreal. He had just talked to him a few days ago. They had been making plans for dinner sometime this weekend.  
And now he was dead. Part of him wanted to grab his phone and call him to see if it was true, if maybe there had been some mistake, but he knew better than to do that. He would only lose his composure and right now that was all he had left. It was all that kept him standing and he was not ready to cry because he wasn't sure that once he did he would be able to stop.  
And so he just sat on his couch, not drinking the glass of scotch in his hand, staring off into the distance.

It took Harvey a while to register that his phone was ringing. He was about to let it go to voice mail when he saw the caller ID. It was Donna and no matter what was going on he always took Donna's calls.  
He picked up, "Donna, what is it?" He knew he could've been more friendly but he couldn't find the energy in himself and Donna would understand. She always understood.  
"Hey, I'm just calling to check on you. Is there anything you need?"  
Harvey raked a hand through his hair. Of course she would call to check up on him. Always worrying about him. He could put it off as being a part of her job but they both knew that wasn't true. She cared about him and he didn't deserve her.  
"No, thank you Donna. I'm... I'm okay." He could imagine the skeptical look on her face.  
After a moment of silence she quietly asked, "Are you at home?"  
He frowned and answered, "Yes, why?"  
Donna let out a sigh and said, "I just... the thought of you getting wasted in some shitty bar wouldn't leave my mind and I wanted to make sure..."  
A sad smile formed on Harvey's lips and the need to comfort her somehow made him try for a joke. "Oh come on, we both know I don't drink at shitty bars."  
Her answering silence let him know it hadn't worked.  
After a while she spoke again, her words hesitant. "And are you alone?"  
He cleared his throat. "Define 'alone'."  
"Is somebody with you?"  
Before he could really think about why she was asking he deflected. "Would you be jealous if I said yes?"  
Donna scoffed, "Please. Nothing I'd have to be jealous of."  
Harvey let out a quiet laugh. "So that's a yes then." He swore he could hear her rolling her eyes.  
He considered ending the conversation at this point but then he thought better of it. Donna must have a reason for asking him that, so he decided to answer it. "No, nobody's here but me."  
She seemed surprised he answered her question because it took her a moment to respond.  
"Ok, good. Goodnight Harvey."  
Before he could wish her a good night as well, she had hung up. Harvey looked at his phone and frowned. What had that been about? After a few minutes he gave up. He would never understand Donna's mind and he wasn't about to start trying tonight.

It took another 20 minutes of gazing into nothingness until the thought of his comfortable bed made him get up. He considered emptying the glass still in his hand but decided against it and put it on the counter. While walking into his bedroom Harvey started unbuttoning his shirt and threw it into the hamper in his adjoining bathroom.  
Looking at his reflection in the mirror he could only sigh. He looked like shit, there was no nicer way to put it. His eyes were red from the tears he had been fighting to keep at bay all day. And the bags beneath them aged him by years.  
He turned on the tap and held his hands under the warm stream of water, cupping them to wash his face. While rubbing it dry with a towel, Harvey's hands stroked over the slight stubble on his cheeks.  
He considered taking a quick shower and also shaving his face just to feel cleaner and maybe through that better, but he dismissed the thought as being redundant. He would have to do it all again in the morning anyway. So what was the point?

He took off his pants and walked into his bedroom after turning out the lights in his bathroom.  
His pajamas lay on his bed and he put them on before crawling under the duvet.  
After turning off the lamp on his nightstand, Harvey dropped his head on his pillow and closed his eyes.  
It was just then that he felt the exhaustion of the day catch up with him and he knew that sleep wouldn't stay away for long.

Then he heard a key turning in the lock of his door and sat up in his bed.  
There were only three people who had a key to his place.  
Scottie was out of the country as far as he knew and while she was not exactly predictable he couldn't see her showing up unannounced at his place in the middle of the night.  
The same went for Jessica. The two of them didn't have a regular Boss/Employee relationship but a nightly surprise visit would definitely be crossing the lines of the relationship they did have.  
That only left Donna. All of a sudden Harvey remembered the slightly strange phone call earlier.  
While listening to the familiar sound that her high-heeled shoes made on the floor he realized what she had been doing. She had made sure that he was alone so that she could show up without creating a possibly awkward situation.

That woman was something else. While he would never admit it, her company was not at all unwanted.  
They made eye-contact as she entered his bedroom and she sent a small smile his way before putting down her bag at the foot of his bed.  
He couldn't turn away at first when she started taking off her clothes. He was not really surprised by her carefreeness at undressing in front of him, he had seen it all before after all, but still a little startled.  
When she moved to undo her bra he averted his eyes and tried not to think about her standing almost naked in his bedroom.  
Harvey thought about saying something but what was there to say? So he kept quiet and looked down at the covers until he felt the mattress dip and her lifting up the duvet and covering herself with it.  
He turned on his side so that he was facing her and smiled, hoping she would see the gratitude that he was not quite able to express. She gave him a slight nod and reached out one hand, caressing his face before withdrawing it and closing her eyes.  
He missed her touch immediately but the sound of her breathing was all the comfort he needed and so he closed his eyes as well.

He was asleep only a few minutes later and didn't hear the choked sob that left Donna's mouth, nor did he feel the light kiss she pressed to his cheek while whispering how sorry she was for what had happened.


End file.
